Innovation News

Trenton, NJ - According to Joshu Burd, "For a company that knows how to grab headlines, last week was no different for Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. That’s because the Canadian company said it planned to double its office space at its U.S. headquarters in Bridgewater, bringing its total footprint there to 620,000 square feet.

But it was more than just another splash for Valeant. It was the latest reminder that New Jersey remains a front-office destination for the ever-changing pharmaceutical industry, after years of disheartening consolidation and the closure of lab and R&D facilities across the state.In other words, it still makes sense to be headquartered in the Garden State.“Obviously there’s still a consolidation going on in the (sector),” said Dan Loughlin, an international director with the real estate brokerage firm JLL. “But I think New Jersey continues to shine as a place for these companies to do business.”Loughlin, who specializes in the life sciences industry, said it’s still all about the state’s educated labor force, location and transportation network. That means it remains a hub for the commercialization of products, clinical development, sales and marketing and executive oversight — even as “some of the innovation and discovery aspects” of the business move to places such as Cambridge, Massachusetts, and California.And it’s why major pharmaceutical companies have helped fuel activity in the state’s Class A office market in recent years, despite the hulking, obsolete campuses that many have left behind. This summer alone, the new GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis consumer health care unit leased 144,000 square feet in Warren, while Zoetis, the animal health company spun off from Pfizer, inked a 12-year deal for a soon-to-be-reconstructed building in Parsippany.

For the full story: http://www.njbiz.com/article/20150831/NJBIZ01/308319999/big-pharma-still-a-force-in-jerseys-office-market